5Things to Know About Taiwan’s Deadly Plane Crash

A plane crashed in Taiwan on Wednesday, marking Taiwan’s deadliest plane accident in more than a decade. The flight crashed in the Penghu islands after a failed attempt to land, just as Typhoon Matmo, which had fiercely lashed the region, passed through. The crash claimed 48 lives, with 10 injured.

24 Jul 2014 4:11am

By

Aries Poon

1What happened?

Flight 222 crashed about a kilometer (0.6 miles) away from the runway of the Magong Airport on Penghu island when it failed at a second attempt to land. TransAsia Airways said 48 people died, with 10 others injured. Penghu’s fire department said eight houses were crushed and five people on the ground were hurt. Taiwan’s government said it suspects technical failure and bad weather could have contributed to the crash. According to Taiwan’s Civil Aeronautics Administration, after its first emergency landing attempt, the plane rose again to about 300 feet in the air before it crashed.

Agence France-Presse/Getty Images

2Why were they allowed to fly?

Despite Typhoon Matmo, officials say weather conditions met requirements for landing. Taiwan’s Central Weather Bureau said Typhoon Matmo had landed in China hours before the crash, which happened at about 7 p.m. local time. The bureau lifted all typhoon warnings by 5:30 p.m. and said there was a thunderstorm in Penghu at the time the plane was trying to land. The wind was blowing from west to east and the bureau said it “wasn’t particularly strong.” From 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., rainfall reached about four inches.

Reuters

3What is the Taiwanese government doing?

TransAsia Airways flew passengers’ families to Penghu early Thursday. The carrier said it will offer an initial compensation payment of 800,000 New Taiwan dollars (US$26,699) per death and NT$200,000 per injury. The Ministry of Transportation said it recovered one of the plane’s two black boxes and is still investigating what caused the crash.

European Pressphoto Agency

4What is TransAsia’s safety record?

TransAsia, Taiwan’s third-largest carrier by fleet size, had seven accidents between 2002 and 2012, one of which resulted in a loss of life. In December 2002, a TransAsia cargo flight heading to Macau from Taipei crashed southwest of Penghu, killing two crew members on board. An investigation found that an accumulation of ice around the plane’s major components caused a loss of control.

Reuters

5Where is Penghu?

The Penghu islands are a 30-minute flight away the southwestern Taiwanese city of Kaohsiung. For centuries, Penghu has been home to fishing communities that recently have become more dependent on tourism. In 2002, a Boeing 747 jet operated by Taiwan’s flag carrier, China Airlines, broke apart in midair, about 20 minutes into its journey to Hong Kong from Taipei. It crashed into the sea northwest of Penghu, killing 225 people. Investigators said a damaged plane tail that wasn’t properly repaired caused the plane to break apart.